Search age:

Search in:

Cutting it at the chalk face

Like many Australians, I can say I have been a great beneficiary of education.

From Highgate Primary to Harvard University and also with many family members employed as academics, teachers and researchers in the education system. But I am also a beneficiary of international education too.

When I studied at Adelaide University, the Singapore Government somehow sent their best and brightest – many of whom were destined to study nuclear physics at Oxford – to my home town to enrol in economics. They became not only my classmates and tutors but I also lived in residence with them at Lincoln College in North Adelaide and were joined by a cohort of Malaysians, Indonesians and Thais as well (about a third of the college were from South-East Asia so noodle nights were well attended after studying!).

As a result, there were some great ‘‘externalities’’ or ‘‘spill over’’ benefits to be gained. In classes such as mathematical economics, the highly technically gifted classmates helped raise my standards (11 out of 15 of the Adelaide University graduating economics year was Singaporean and Malaysian) and when it came to writing essays, I could return the favour with my comparative advantage in humanities as some of my class mates struggled.

Advertisement

But my anecdotal case of benefitting from higher education is not isolated. From the Colombo plan in the 1940s onwards (many of my class mates were Colombo plan students as were some of their parents), international education has blossomed in Australia. According to the International Education Association Australia, international students now contribute 15.5 per cent to the university sector revenue, which directly provides 135,000 jobs. The education export sector is worth $18.6 billion (2009 data) to which universities contribute about $10.4 billion.

But while the numbers are important (yes size does matter, and as a major service export for Australia, education is a crucial economic sector in terms of global engagement) international education matters on a whole range of levels.

With reports of a steady decrease in the number of international students studying in Australia, it’s time we realise there is more at stake than the dollars and cents they inject into the local economy.

Firstly, even today, when global and domestic commentary on Australia focuses on our traditional strengths in resources and agriculture, an important part of this story includes the role played by the education services sector in Australia’s global engagement. This has occurred particularly given the rise in commodity prices and the strong terms of trade (the price of exports as a ratio of the price of imports). But the success of the resources and extractive sectors themselves are underpinned by a comparative advantage in education – with services to mining and agriculture being important inputs. Furthermore, the ‘‘rocks and crops’’ industries have spawned many services industries including education. I see this everywhere on my travels mining training businesses from Perth in Siberia and Brazil, to wine marketing and technology training businesses from SA’s McLaren Vale in Argentina, and agribusiness colleges in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Secondly, even when looking at export volume growth – abstracting from commodity price changes - services export growth has been substantial over the decade. Resources earns Australia large export values because of commodity prices but services exports – including education — still perform well. Services, as a whole matter, because even if they provide 22 per cent of exports, they also account for 40 per cent of Australia’s international business sales, 80 per cent of GDP and 85 per cent of employment.

Thirdly, investments in the education sector underpin the whole exporting community in Australia. Austrade and Australian Bureau of Statistics research shows that as Australia opened up its economy, exporters invested more in education, training (both formal, vocational and on-the-job) than non-exporters and hence were able to raise average levels of productivity and innovation, and pay higher wages and provide more fulfilling careers. This matters especially at a time when competitiveness is an issue with the Australian economy.

With such confidence in Australia post the GFC, real competitiveness can only improve through advances in productivity gained through investment in education. Hence a strong higher education sector is in the interests of all exporting sectors and all those engaged in the global economy. Because as Nobel laureate US economist Paul Krugman, says ‘‘productivity isn’t everything but in the long run its nearly everything’’.

Finally, as Nation Brand expert Simon Anholt pointed out elegantly at this conference, very few people will ever come to Australia in their lifetime but they will learn about Australia from the experience of both tourists and students. And students are here for a longer time, on average, than tourists so their experience is very important in how Australia is viewed. And this takes me back to my days at Adelaide University. A number of my Singaporean and Malaysian classmates had fond experiences of their time in Australia and this is important to how Australia and Adelaide is viewed in South-East Asia. This is important in its own right but in addition, many are now in influential positions in their home countries. For instance, in Singapore Raymond Lim is a cabinet minister and has important benefits for trade and investment ties between Australia, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. It’s not confined to South-East Asia either. Even in Ulan Bator, many senior Mongolian officials and businesspeople with an Australian education have banded together to form the Mongolian Australian association (known affectionately as ‘‘The Mozzies’’).

These people links and network are invaluable to our nation in terms of trade. So I am really glad that Singapore’s best and brightest were diverted from Oxford nuclear physics to Adelaide economics. It not only benefited Australia, it boosted my exam scores and knowledge of South-East Asian cooking?

Tim Harcourt is the chief economist of the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade). He spoke at the Australian International Education Conference held in Sydney this week.

7 comments so far

Where we have limited resources in terms of University places, and where education is treated as a vital part of forming citizenship rather than as a commodity to be sold, I would far prefer us to be educating all those Australian students who wish to get a higher education. Degree factories for overseas students might be fine as an export income earner, but it doesn't do much for the fabric of Australian society, if it is achieved by locking out capable Australian students who lack the resources to attend.

Commenter

Lesm

Location

Balmain

Date and time

October 15, 2010, 6:41AM

All Australians have access to university and receive support so long as they meet the entry requirements. It is great that our universities provide education to international students. This industry benefits all involved, with Australian unis receiving more income to spend on all students and international students receiving world class education which in turn benefits their home countries or Australia should they stay here. Those who miss out on university do not miss out because of foreign students, rather they do not meet the entry requirements ie. they do not have the marks required for the course.

Commenter

Sam

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

October 15, 2010, 2:20PM

... Industry..

When i studied at Sydney Uni in the early 1980 's I felt I was at an educational institution.

Nowadays universities etc are described as an educational industry.

It reminds me of sausage factories or the toilet paper industry.

Commenter

having fun

Location

Sydney

Date and time

October 15, 2010, 3:44PM

No Australian student misses out on a place due to international students being accepted into Australian institutions. In fact, revenue from international student fees helps support capital investment and scholarships that benefit all students. Like Tim, some of the most valuable learning experiences I have had in my life have been alongside international students. International education gives both local and international students the chance to become global citizens.

Commenter

keito

Location

Epping

Date and time

October 15, 2010, 5:59PM

Good article. The benefits of the associations with Australia formed by overseas students who have a good experience here and go back home, often (eventually) to senior positions in government and business are inestimable- but too often ignored.

I often agree with lesm, but not this time. Sam is right.

My training was in zoology and entomology, but my education was through my association with overseas students- from Malaysia, Vietnam, Tanzania, Iraq, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, Barbados, Fiji, and more.

I must admit to some bias- the Colombo plan (and the end of the Vietnam war) brought to Australia the person who would become my partner of 30 years (and counting).

Commenter

Mycelius

Location

Brisbane

Date and time

October 15, 2010, 6:50PM

I think Bill Mollison of Permaculture fame had something not to pleasant to say about the Colombo Plan from his experience of the then green revolution.And frankly,I doubt,you will contribute much to practical solutions in either rocks or crops.And why is that!?A lot of some very god changes farmers and others not blowing their self-trumpets have improved food production in crops.It is certainly true,however, that perhaps The Olympic Dam Site could be a place underground where experimental crop growing occurs.Because recent scientific evidence suggests some crops,for a variety of reasons, were able to handle the Chernobyl event.And I know at least two people who have contributed to mining,and got second best treatment because Univ. Educated were already on the payroll.One found a gold deposit,the other retired,Jehovah's Witness improved a basic tool for BHP. A inventors group based in Dorrigo can tell a long story of the below univ.educated being rip off by industry whilst productivity improved.Without hide nor hair of the Univ. Educated.

Commenter

p.a.travers

Location

Tyringham2453 N.S.W.

Date and time

October 15, 2010, 8:49PM

Sam,

Not so. You are probably not aware that a certain proportion of places are allocated to foreign students because they are full fee paying and the Unis would not be able to survive without them as they are inadequately funded by government since John Howard. Those places would otherwise go to Australian students, many of whom would benefit greatly, and benefit the country, by receiving the education they should be entitled to expect in their own country. I can see your point of view though as you see Universities as means of generating revenue and churning out degrees that suit the needs of industry. Sadly, most of those produced out of these sausage machine factories are functionally illiterate and unable to understand the polity in which they live.

Subscribe to IT Pro

Follow Us

Editor's Choice

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has bolstered Malcolm Turnbull's ministerial duties, handing him greater responsibility for e-government in a push to expand the use of a single digital identity for Australians.

Data

The new roof that spans Margaret Court arena does more than keep out the weather. Built into the gantries that surround the sliding ceiling are Wi-Fi antennas that beam web access to every ticket holder.